The United States is widening its disagreement as to whether pension accounts should include encrypted assets. A recent national survey shows that most Americans do not support employers in providing options for investments in encrypted assets in occupational pension schemes such as 401 (k), but federal regulators are gradually easing restrictions over the past year to pave the way for such assets to enter the retirement savings system.
Most of the respondents were clearly opposed.
According to a survey by the United States Institute for Retirement Security, 53 per cent of respondents opposed the provision of encrypted assets by employers in pension schemes. A further 77 per cent consider such investments to be at risk, 46 per cent of which consider them “high risk”.
The survey, conducted by Greenwald Research between 24 October and 14 November 2025, covered 1203 United States residents aged 25 and over and weighted by age, sex and income.
According to another United States Federal Reserve survey, 10 per cent of United States adults held or used encrypted assets in 2025, up from 7 per cent in 2024. About 7 per cent of these are held as investments only. This means that opposition does not come only from people who have never had contact with encrypted assets.
The pressure on retirement savings is rising.
The survey also revealed a lack of security among the American population with regard to the retirement guarantee itself. Eighty per cent of respondents felt that the United States was facing a retirement crisis, up from 67 per cent in 2020; 61 per cent expressed concern that it would be difficult to achieve financial security after retirement.
In terms of savings pressure, 68 per cent of the population considered it more difficult to prepare for retirement, and 77 per cent indicated that debt was preventing them from accumulating sufficient savings. Another February 2026 analysis, based on data from the United States Census Bureau, stated that the median retirement savings of American workers were less than $1,000 and that many employees did not have a retirement plan offered by their employers.
The same analysis also shows that about 52 per cent of older Americans' retirement income is dependent on social security contributions, while as of December 2022, only about 17 per cent of workers received traditional fixed-income pensions. As a result, most people rely on 401 (k) such defined-contribution schemes and bear the risk of investment decision-making and market volatility.
The Ministry of Labour continues to push for untiement.
Contrary to public attitudes, the attitude of the United States at the federal level towards the allocation of encrypted assets to pension accounts has clearly shifted towards easing over the past year. In May 2025, the United States Department of Labor withdrew its earlier directive requiring the trustee of the retirement plan to “extra-prudentially” before including encrypted assets, stating that the statement deviated from a consistent institutional approach to the neutrality of different asset types.
Since then, the Ministry of Labour has indicated that the trustees should independently assess the inclusion of the assets in question, in accordance with their responsibilities under the Employees Retirement Income Guarantee Act, ERISA, and not be pushed to support or avoid certain types of investment because of the attitude of the Government.
On 7 August 2025, the President of the United States, Trump, signed an executive order on alternative assets, which included a digital asset investment tool, along with private equity, private equity credit, real estate, etc., and requested the Department of Labor to review the relevant fiduciary guidelines, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to consult with the Department of Labor on regulatory adjustments involving employers ' retirement plan participants.
A few days later, the Ministry of Labour withdrew a precautionary statement of 2021 on alternative investments such as private equity, continuing to emphasize a case-by-case review rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to assets.
New proposals affect over 9 million people
By March 2026, the Ministry of Labour had further proposed new draft rules to clarify the items to be examined by the trustee when assessing alternative assets, including performance, costs, liquidity, valuation, foreclosure clauses, and whether the general participants understood the relevant products.
According to the reports cited, this framework will affect over 9 million retirement savings participants. The proposal also established a “safe harbour” arrangement to reduce the risk of litigation by the trustees following the required review procedure.
However, these adjustments do not imply that the employer must provide encrypted assets, private equity or private credit products. If the proponent of the plan decides to be included, it is still necessary to document the complete review process and demonstrate that the relevant options meet the ERISA requirements for due diligence.
At present, the proposal is still in the federal rule-making process, and the Ministry of Labour can modify, finalize or withdraw after reviewing public opinion. For the United States pension system, the real focus is not just on whether or not to regulate the release, but on the fact that most depositors do not want to place encrypted assets in their own long-term pension accounts.